Time to Cut Back on Screen Time?

Parents instinctively know
that too much time plunked in front of the television passively watching the
screen is not good for their kids. And of course, the television has
competition: computers, laptops, tablets, smart phones.

Is this cause for parental
concern?

You bet it is!

Both the AMA and the American Academy of Pediatrics
recommend no more than two hours of screen time a day for young children.
Babies and toddlers shouldn’t watch screens at all, they say.

What is
the Harm?

The jury is
still out on the some of the problems many experts suspect are caused by too
much time in front of a screen, but there is firm evidence to support others.

There is an
established corollary between a drop-off in
homework completion and a television in a child’s bedroom. Yet according recent
studies, more than 40 percent of children under the age of eight have them.

Kids who
spend more than two hours a day in front of the television or computer are at
risk for obesity, irregular sleep habits, and sub-par academics.

They also
may have difficulty concentrating. No one knows with certainty if the incidence
of attention deficits is caused by too much screen time, or if kids with
these problems find respite in front of screens.

Some
experts believe behavioral problems, ranging from bullying to being unable to establish friendships, are related to
excessive time in front of the television and computer. And many educators and
mental health professionals believe kids who play a lot of video games and
watch a lot of TV become desensitized to violence.

Some
studies have found that children who spent hour upon hour in front of a screen
were more than 50 percent more likely to suffer from psychological problems as
they grew up.

What
About Educational Shows?

There is no
evidence that so-called educational programs — even the venerable Sesame
Street — benefit
toddlers. At their young age, youngsters need direct interaction with adults and other
kids. They benefit from conversational give-and-take, creative play, and the
quaint practice of being read to from books. And like all children, these tots
need lots of physical activity.

Talking,
playing and being read to form language. Listening to a disembodied
character on a screen is far less effective for this critical development.

Once their
language skills are in place -- for most kids after age two -- they can watch
television and play video and computer games. They also might like to fool
around with apps downloaded by their parents onto tablets and smart phones.

But even
so, two hours a day with any of these gadgets should be the limit, say most experts.

Of course
there are days when this will be impossible. All parents turn to one screen or
another to keep their offspring quiet while they start dinner, take a shower,
or deal with a household meltdown. And screens are great in airports, waiting
rooms, and restaurants. Nonetheless, it’s inadvisable to make a habit of
relying on them to babysit.

Parents
to the Rescue

No one
knows your kids as well as you do and so it’s up to parents to decide how and
when to limit screen time.

Still,
there are a few guidelines that educators and others believe help kids navigate
a world increasingly dominated by screens.

First,
don’t use the television as “background noise.” Turn it off when no one is
actually watching a program.

Watch
TV shows with your kids so that you can talk about them.

Keep
computers in the family room or elsewhere where the family congregates. This
discourages kids from logging on to inappropriate sites. And, when the gang is right there, your child may find
family activities more enticing than the screen.

Keep
TVs out of kids’ bedrooms.

Set
examples for your kids. Don’t constantly check your email. Forbid texting
during dinner and other times. Discuss what you learn from a TV show or news
from the Internet to promote conversations.

Overall, no one thinks we should unilaterally ban screens for kids who are older than two
or three. They are very much part of life and can be powerful tools. It’s up to every
family to decide how best to utilize them—and limit them.

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